Eddie Bauer Seeking Sale & Leaseback of HQ Near Seattle

The Seattle Times - November 20, 2003

The Spiegel Group, parent company of Eddie Bauer, asked a bankruptcy court Monday for permission to sell its 18.2-acre property at 15010 N.E. 36th St., Redmond. The judge is expected to rule Nov. 25. The Downers Grove, Ill.-based Spiegel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March and has closed customer and distribution centers and dozens of Eddie Bauer stores. The chain now has 468 stores, down from 574 a year ago. The company could lease back some or all of the campus, keeping the headquarters there, or it could move its 550 employees somewhere else.

The three-building campus, home to Eddie Bauer since 1972, was rebuilt in the 1990s and is worth about $33 million, said Steve Sutherland, a vice president at CB Richard Ellis in Bellevue who will handle the sale. Real-estate investors and neighboring companies, including Microsoft, have expressed interest in the property, which is nearly surrounded by the software giant.

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